Responding to the need for easy to install and easy to use surround sound systems, KEF conceived the KIT100. It was a combined DVD player, AV amplifier and sub-sat speaker package all in one. The key innovation, however, was the quasi surround effect created from just two speakers positioned at the front of the room, with no need for speakers and cables behind the listener.

The two satellite loudspeaker assemblies, positioned to the left and right of the screen, each comprised a front mounted 100mm (4”) Uni-Q array, which reproduced the left, right and (phantom) centre channels as normal. Behind each Uni-Q, however, was an edge-on NXT flat-panel radiator, operating as a ‘dipole’, and radiating the surround channel information diffusely into the room so that it appeared to come from all around rather than directly from the speakers. This novel acoustical technique allows a convincing surround effect from loudspeakers at the front of the room only.

With a matching subwoofer and comprehensive AV processing and input/output facilities, this one-stop solution to home cinema has proved very popular in a growing sector of the market.

KIT200 (2005-07)

KIT200 was based on the same DVD head unit and subwoofer of the KIT100 but comprised a full 5.1 speaker system. The satellite speaker was the same as that from the KHT5005 system, and the subwoofer contained an extra amplifier channel to drive the dedicated centre speaker.